ABSTRACT
The military-industrial complex in the USSR is made up of a variety of political and economic institutions which have as their overall, common objective the enhancement of the country's national security. Military capability is produced by the Soviet military, which is a branch of the service sector of the economy. Soviet Union imports military equipment and technology from its Warsaw Pact partners. Increases in the level of national security can be achieved through a variety of policies that influence either external threats or Soviet military capabilities. Improvements in the foreign trade sector of the military-industrial complex could make a contribution to enhanced military capabilities. Although US intelligence reports on the Soviet military are valuable sources of data, they should be treated with caution by outside analysts because of the underlying uncertainty of intelligence estimates. Soviet policies of secrecy and censorship make it difficult to conduct a detailed study of the role and importance of the military-industrial complex in the USSR.
